Confluences of Law and History

Irish Legal History Society Discourses, and other papers, 2011-21

Niamh Howlin and Felix M. Larkin

“Confluences of Law and History is a collection of papers composed for the Irish Legal Society by esteemed scholars, including Jane Ohlmeyer, Paul Bew, Patrick Geoghegan and regular History Ireland contributor Felix Larkin.” Daragh Fitzgerald, History Ireland, September/October 2025.

“A humdinger of a book …  Confluences of Law and History is an eclectic mix of essays on aspects of Irish legal history from the early modern period to the twentieth century. It certainly boasts as authors a plethora of distinguished legal eagles and historians ... These essays not only cover purely legal issues, but also constitutional, political, social, religious, cultural and economic overlaps with the law, attesting to its centrality, or perhaps sometimes its absence, in shaping and forming the intertwined history of these islands, and its significance in providing continuity and a sort of societal glue in times of stress and transition ... This beautifully-produced and well-edited volume is a fitting tribute to the extensive influence of the ILHS in both the legal and historical fields, indeed often melding them and welding them into a satisfying coherent whole.” Dr Ian d’Alton  

“There are 16 individual chapters in this collaboration between Four Courts Press and the ILHS – and what an attraction it is. […] ‘Confluences’ should be viewed as and enjoyable distraction from the more functional but necessary CPD-like activity. To dip into this book is to enter an Aladdin’s Cave of individual legal/historical pieces that can be randomly selected to read in multiple short visits – a case of reading law based on history for its own sake! What Gazette patron could resist opening up this lore of well-researched material, some with attractive exotic titles, on subject-matter ranging from the lives or experiences of individuals, to legal aspects of our own 19th/20th centuries’ history. […] the joint editors, Niamh Howlin and Felix M Larkin […] performed their editorial functions with great attention to detail, notably the inclusion of lengthy informative source footnotes throughout, but without disrupting the readability of the main text. Well done!” Michael V O’Mahony, Law Society Gazette, December 2025